> That is doing it properly - and responsibly. The more I look at the other
> picture I think that it is just an accident waiting to happen. Strap or
> harness failure, or carabineer becoming unlocked - both scenarios that have
> occurred in the past - and you are dead!
Everything is serial numbered and every use is counted. Normal usage
levels means that they can only be used for about a week before
getting sent off for fatigue checks and x-raying. It's a very costly
operation to have, but the increased attendance at the camps have made
up for it so the ROI is certainly there.
The primary concern is the law of averages. No matter how safe your
operation, when you have up to 50,000 riders a year... This operation
is certainly the gold-standard for ziplines. They do certification
training for others now. And they've also been developing additional
safety checks before sending the person down the line.
They've had truck failures where one or more of the rollers became
dislodged from the cable. When that happens, you come to a screeching
halt. Biggest problem with that is that the truck can get jammed on
the cable. Getting the person off the cable is easy. Unjamming the
cable without causing damage to the cable can get interesting. The
person was never in any danger unless the stop was abrupt and he or
she had a face impact with the hardware. But not in danger of falling.
I'm pretty well convinced that the picture that Nathan referenced, was
of the rider before a safety line was attached. Regardless, the
recommended procedure is that the rider is never even allowed to
suspend or test without redundant attachment. The number of safety
violations in that picture would have our crew making phone calls.
I'm a world-class wuss when it comes to things like this, but I'll
ride our ziplines without fear.
--
Ken Norton
ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.zone-10.com
--
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